


Blooms the Black Lotus

by JadzPackett



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adorable Choi Soobin, Airbending & Airbenders, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Bending (Avatar), Best Friends Choi Beomgyu & Choi Yeonjun, Confused Choi Yeonjun, Cute Huening Kai, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Elemental Magic, Fantasy, Firebending & Firebenders, Protective Choi Beomgyu, Protective Choi Yeonjun, Protective Kang Taehyun, Shy Huening Kai, Soft Choi Soobin, Sweetheart Choi Beomgyu, Waterbending & Waterbenders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27906943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadzPackett/pseuds/JadzPackett
Summary: There were many Avatars before the last airbender. Many stories before the one of young Avatar Aang saving the world from being engulfed in flames. Stories where the nations were united and thrived off of one other's kindness and natural abilities. Stories where the world was one and war was as dead as previous men it had killed. Stories where the Fire Nation stayed in its own corner, keeping their element to themselves.Avatar Yeonjun of said Fire Nation lived in such times, long before the name "Avatar Aang" came from anyone's lips. Although he had faced a similar problem Aang had, his name seemed to have went down without so much of an utter from an elder. If it weren't for him, the world would have been extinct before Aang had the chance to save it.All around the four nations, benders had suddenly started to lose their abilities. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could restore them, and when the world needed him most, he responded.He was only left one clue that followed him wherever he journeyed, and haunted him and the friends he had made.What is the clue, you ask?Two words.Black lotus.
Kudos: 4





	Blooms the Black Lotus

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally supposed to be a part of the TXT Amino, but due to some events that have unfolded, I have decided that it would be best if I left. This has been sitting in my Docs ever since and I didn't want it to just go to waste. 
> 
> Blooms the Black Lotus was going to be an interactive story where the readers got to decide certain things that occurred. The TXT community got to decide the pre-writing factors such as which nation they were from, who the Avatar was, their hair colors, the timeline, and the title (which I ended up changing), and if Beomgyu knew something important to the plot. I was excited for it, so I won't let it die so easily. I'm don't know if this will stay interactive, as I'm not sure how I would be able to do that on here, but hopefully at least one person out there will like the storyline nonetheless.
> 
> I also didn't know if I wanted to post this on here, but I decided that it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, right?

Although Yeonjun had already mastered three out of the four elements, there was nothing he loved more than to practice them -- water, earth, and fire, in that order -- up in a cave when the sun started to go down.

He had found something he loved about all three of them. Something he had found unique whenever he was manipulating one over the others.

Originating from the Fire Nation, the first out of the four was naturally a little more challenging to learn. It had taken the young Avatar Yeonjun six months to master the way of the waves, but he had remained patient knowing that it would come to him eventually, and now that it had, he played with the water nearly everyday. He liked the waterbending movements the most out of all of the ones he knew -- they were slow and graceful, from the way he shifted his feet to the smallest twitch in his fingers. He was quick to pick up on those little details, as each little flutter he made effected the circulation of the water; he loved watching the rays of the sun dance along the spine of the flow, and he finally understood why waterbending was known to be addicting.

Earthbending, Yeonjun felt, didn’t require much thinking. Unlike waterbending (where he had to focus on what he wanted the water to do), earthbending revolved more around instincts to him, which was odd considering it wasn’t the element he was born with. He had found out the hard way that earthbending required lightning reflexes and wits, as usually, in his case, when it’s time to start using it, there is barely any time to strategize and only time to act. Yeonjun felt powerful whenever his foot or fist made contact with the rock, sending it soaring through the air and crashing back into the earth; he felt as if he himself were a boulder, grounded and unmoving, just as he was taught.

Lastly, for obvious reasoning, firebending definitely came the most natural to him, though that didn’t mean that he hadn’t spent months perfecting the art. Yeonjun had immediately understood what it meant to be one with the blaze, and he always felt the most alive whilst dancing with fire. The overwhelming warmth that circulated within his chest as flames surged from him was exhilarating, and the smell of smoke made his lips twitch with satisfaction. “Breathe in the smoke, breathe out the flame.” That’s what he lived by; and if he wasn’t the Avatar, he would have been plenty happy with solely firebending nonetheless.

Beomgyu had Yeonjun explain this to him many times over again, and he wished that for a moment, just a moment, he could feel what it was like for himself -- it was difficult for him to understand anything that didn’t burn.

He liked watching Yeonjun as he practiced, constantly trying to perfect his perfection. He could see the passion and attitude in each mesmerizing stance: the rising and falling of Yeonjun’s chest as he took in deep, calming breaths to help his muscles relax, giving the water he twirled above him freedom to express itself; the tense and powerful movements of his arms and legs as he manipulated the cave around them, forcing the rocks to emerge from their place and morph into whatever Yeonjun pleased; the quick and agile art of harvesting the blaze inside and pushing it outward, illuminating the darkness with a simple flick of his wrist; as Beomgyu sat against the wall, observing, he mimed along with Yeonjun, pretending that he, too, could control water and move the earth.

Once Yeonjun’s performance was finished, Beomgyu always cheered him on.

“Wah,” Beomgyu exhaled, his eyes wide with amazement even though they’ve seen the Avatar’s ways countless times. “Amazing!”

Yeonjun smiled sheepishly as he shrugged. “It was nothing new,” he said quietly, though there was pride in his voice. Pulling Beomgyu onto his feet, he then asked, “How were my firebending stances?” This was also a common routine. Outside critiquing was highly valuable to Yeonjun, as he only ever wanted to improve his already incredible skills. Beomgyu was the only other person he had to ask for advice, though only on firebending.

“Honestly, you were perfect,” Beomgyu responded genuinely, adjusting the hood of his robe so it rested evenly on his shoulders. “The only thing I would suggest is widening your stance.” He demonstrated by outstretching his arms and shifting his feet outward, creating an open and vulnerable pose. “This isn’t necessary, but it allows more room for energy to build in one hand--” Yeonjun watched as Beomgyu traced his arm, then crossed his fingers over his chest and extended his other arm again, pointing out into the darkening sky “--and release through the other.”

Yeonjun nodded in understanding, immediately mimicking him; he could feel his ribcage open, also allowing more room for his lungs to breathe freely. “Is this how you create those flames of yours?” 

Beomgyu hummed in confirmation, repeating the movements slowly. “You’re already a powerful bender, though, so I doubt you’ll need to take this advice.” He then dropped his arms to his sides, exhaling softly. “And I’m not a teacher, so it’s probably just nonsense.”

“Not a teacher?” Yeonjun tsked, still maintaining his stance so he could memorize the exact positioning of his limbs. “Not a professional, maybe, but you still taught me how to firebend in the first place; if it weren’t for you, who knows how long I would have spent mastering it!” He reassuringly nudged Beomgyu with his elbow. “Come on. Teach me again. How do you produce fire like yours?”

“You’re the Avatar, Yeonjun,” he started, his arms disappearing under his silky robe. “I’m the last person you need to learn from.”

“I’ve been the Avatar for five years and yet I still don’t have an arrow on my head.” Yeonjun pointed to his forehead, moving his hair aside. It was true. The iconic arrows spiraled down his arms and legs, and a blue line had appeared on the back of his neck, but disappeared into his hairline and never emerged again. “My hair just turned blue! So for all anyone knows, I just have odd genetics!” Seeing that his point failed to make itself clear, he whined and shook Beomgyu by the arm. 

“Me being the Avatar doesn’t discredit the talent you always had,” Yeonjun said, the sincerity in his voice prompting a small smile on Beomgyu, which Yeonjun saw and immediately took advantage of. “See? You know it, too!” Pushing him gently, he went, “Teach me!”

“Okay, okay.” Beomgyu gave in, rolling his shoulders. “It’s really quite simple -- it just requires focus and energy.” He slowly closed his eyes as he took in a breath and raised his leg, his arms pointed upward. “First, circulate your energy between your hands; as you pull the energy from one to the other, the hand you’re leading with will sort of act as a magnet,” he showed him how to do so once more without releasing any energy, though Yeonjun could tell he was gathering it by the way he became silent for a moment. “Then, after you can feel it course through you--” 

Beomgyu suddenly jerked his arm outward as the sound of his foot hitting the ground bounced off the cave walls; thunderous flames blazed from his fingertips, barreling out into the open sky. Yeonjun hadn’t expected it and had to sharply turn his head to watch the fire light up the tips of the dying trees that poked over the cliffside, nearly blending into the orange sunset. He had only seen Beomgyu perform this firebending a few times before, and he had never thought to try it himself. He was excited to finally attempt it. 

Beomgyu made a circular motion with his arms, the flames ceasing to exist as he curled his fingers; smoke slithered from his lips as he finally exhaled, ridding of the warmth that still remained in his lungs. 

When he opened his eyes, Yeonjun stood with the biggest smile on his face. Beomgyu suddenly felt embarrassed. 

“See?” He said as he shrugged, ruffling his own dark hair so it covered his sweaty forehead and reddening ears. “Easy.”

“My turn!” Yeonjun said excitedly as he shuffled forward, rolling up the non-existent sleeves of his muscle shirt. He relaxed his arms by shaking them out, then took his position. He repeated everything Beomgyu told him in his mind, once just going through the motion. Beomgyu leaned against the wall as he watched. He already knew what the outcome would be. Yeonjun was an incredibly quick learner. He excelled in everything he did and never settled for anything less, so he knew that there was a high chance he would succeed on his first try.

And he did. 

The original move Beomgyu spent weeks creating, Yeonjun was able to learn in a matter of minutes. Everything about the way he executed it was perfect, more perfect than Beomgyu himself ever could: the distance between his feet was precisely placed, and the motion of his hand was done without fault -- even the flames that came from his fingertips were more powerful than Beomgyu’s, temporarily claiming the sky as its own.

Beomgyu couldn’t help but applaud him.

“Did I do it?” Yeonjun asked as he turned toward Beomgyu, who nodded. 

“Of course you did,” he replied with a smile. “If anything, this is a downgrade of what you’re used to. Come on,” he added quickly as he turned toward the mouth of the cave, just as Yeonjun was about to protest against his statement. “Mom said she was making dumplings tonight.”

“Dumplings?” Yeonjun repeated with widened, excited eyes. He was already brushing past Beomgyu as he said, “Why are you just telling me this now?”

“We both know why,” Beomgyu chuckled, but Yeonjun didn’t respond, as he was too busy drooling over the cave floor as he hastily made his way toward the exit.

Pulling up his hood, Beomgyu followed with straight lips.

~*~

While Yeonjun slept soundly next to him, Beomgyu stayed up that night. 

The warm dumplings were still settling in his stomach, though it felt as if they would come back up at any moment; he constantly had to swallow down the nausea that tried climbing up his throat as he stared at the window, waiting. Expecting. 

The sun had long since disappeared below the horizon. A haze had built up in the sky since they’ve gotten back, covering the moon in a lacy blanket. Beomgyu’s eyes had just started to close as a small knock came from the glass, repeating itself twice. He froze for a moment, glancing down toward Yeonjun to make sure that it didn’t disturb his slumber, but he remained still and unbothered, so Beomgyu quietly shuffled over to the window to open it.

He held his finger to his lips as a beautiful green dragonhawk climbed onto the sill, then hopped onto Beomgyu’s arm, quietly chirping a greeting. The firebender gently stroked his soft feathers before he opened the scroll stock, the scroll he had been waiting seven days for nestled inside. 

“Good job, Toto,” he whispered, holding up his hand. The oddly-colored dragonhawk lifted his talons and simulated a high-five, then flew over to his perch after Beomgyu removed the scroll stock from around his body and told him to rest. 

Now, all he was anxious for was what was written inside -- this was more nerve-wracking than waiting.

“Please, please…” he said to himself as he slowly opened the scroll, his heart pounding so hard, the shaking of his hands mimicked the beat. 

Depending on the answer inside, it could determine Yeonjun’s future, and that’s what had Beomgyu afraid. 

If Yeonjun could go, everything that threatened to keep him back, that could remotely dampen his destiny would be put behind him, and he could fulfill his promise to the world: the promise to keep it safe.

If Yeonjun couldn’t go, if he had to stay here, with him, Beomgyu couldn’t fathom what may unfold.

Finally, the answer was revealed by the scarce moonlight.

And Beomgyu felt like crying.


End file.
